Discussing Race
Lesson 3: Empathy: We all Have Feelings and They're All OK
Lesson Goals
- Practice identifying and naming feelings.
- Recognize that everyone has feelings, regardless of how they look.
- Notice when we feel the same as others, even those who are different from us in some way.
Lesson Description
Use the illustration “At the Doctor’s Office” to spark conversation about feelings and help children build empathy and connections with people who are different from them.
Lesson Plan: What Are Feelings?
Play "Us Time" Song
Open Us Time with the “Us Time” song. Sing it together or play the video.
Review Agreements
Agreements are rules that people decide, together, to follow such as:
- Paying attention to each other;
- Keeping our hands to ourselves; and
- Giving everyone a turn to speak.
In each session, discuss agreements, add to them, modify them, and recommit. Students can raise their hands or say “I agree” to show that they agree.
Discussion: At the Doctor's Office
Use the illustration, “At the Doctor’s Office” to prompt a class discussion. Display the image and allow several minutes for students to observe and share what they see. Throughout your discussion, model talking about children’s differences. For example, “You noticed that the little girl with brown skin is sneezing!” You can prompt conversation with the following questions:
- Where do you think these children are?
- Look at this child’s face and body. How do you think they are feeling? Have you ever felt that way? What made you feel like that? What helped you to feel better? What might help that child feel better?
- Have you ever been to the doctor’s office? How did you feel when you were waiting to see the doctor? Who was with you to help?
Movement: Feeling Like Others
Use the illustration, “At the Doctor’s Office” to play a movement game, “Feeling Like Others.”
- Point to one child in the picture and tell students to stand up if they have ever felt the same way as that child.
- Ask one of the standing students to name the feeling that they share with the child from the illustration.
- Ask another child to find something different between the child in the picture and themself.
- Invite everyone to sit down and repeat!
Note: You can modify by changing the movement or trying this exercise with illustrations in a book. For example, students could stand with their hands in the air or walk around the perimeter of the rug.
Closing Discussion: Empathy
We all have feelings! We all feel sad, happy, worried, excited, calm, or silly sometimes, though the things that make us feel our feelings can be different.
- Getting a shot/injection at the doctor’s office might be scary for some people, but not scary for another person. What do YOU usually feel at the doctor’s office? (Share.)
- When you share someone else’s feelings, that’s called empathy. Having an empathetic friend feels good. When [name a student] gave a hug/ice pack/hand to [name another student], that was an example of empathy.
- People can feel the same feelings, even if they are different in other ways. I can share the happiness of [name student or other teacher], we can share the same feeling, but still be our own people!
Thank You: Share the Us Time Closing Song
Conclude with “Thank You,” the Us Time “goodbye” song. This song marks the end of Us Time. Invite children to share what they want to say “thank you” for! Find the song online at playsparkler.org/UsTimeSongs.
Standards
Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Goal P-SE 6, Goal P-SE 7, Goal P-SE 9, Goal P-SE 11, Goal P-LC 1, Goal P-LC 2, Goal P-LC 5, Goal P-LC 6.
CT ELDS: SE.36.13, SE.48.12, SE.60.15, SE.36.7, SE.36.8, SE.48.7, SE.48.8, SE.60.9, SE.60.10, SE.60.11, SS.60.1, L.36.5, L.48.5, L.60.5, L.36.7, L.48.7, L.48.11, L.36.14, L.48.13, L.48.15.
Vocabulary
Empathy: sharing a feeling with someone else
What You'll Need
- Family Photos Collage
- Family photos from each student
- Board or big paper and pens for creating graph/visualization
- “Us Time” song
- “Thank You” goodbye song
Lesson Quick Links
- “Us Time” song
- Family Photos Collage
- “Thank You” goodbye song
- Discussing Race with Young Children guide
Family Engagement Materials
From this lesson, you can share:
- “Us Time” song
- Discussing Race with Young Children: A Step-By-Step Activity Guide
Activity: Get-Well Gift
Activity: For the Birds
- Community Colors interactive (also available in the Sparkler app for programs using Sparkler)
- “Thank You” goodbye song